


Tea Líf

by Jbee



Series: Gates of Askr: Year One [39]
Category: Fire Emblem Heroes, Fire Emblem Series
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:14:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27804391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jbee/pseuds/Jbee
Summary: Restless from her time off after her ordeal with the Nightmare realm, Kiran has started to work towards putting her own plans in motion. First on her to-do-list is to figure out what to do with all of the unsavory heroes that seemed to be summoned to Askr, and she has invited Líf over to her house to enlist him in this task.Can Kiran ensure a perfect tea time with this gloomy swordsman?
Relationships: Líf/Summoner | Eclat | Kiran
Series: Gates of Askr: Year One [39]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1703545
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	Tea Líf

**Author's Note:**

> This chapter is part of a collection of short stories driven by the FEH Subreddit Weekly Writing Prompts, Nov. 30, 2020. "The dream gives way to the dawn."

A billow of smoke plumed out from her brick oven, forcing Kiran to turn away, coughing. Her throat stung and she covered her face by pulling up a kerchief that was tied around her neck. She waved her hand vigorously at the oven entrance, casting away the smoke before she reached her cloth wrapped hand in to pull out the sheet of cookies. Dropping the hot metal pan on the counter with a loud clang. The light brown cookies shimmered with glowing specks of crimson, their potent fragrance filling the air with sweet spice. She had used Múspell cinnamon that she acquired from Princess Laevatein in this batch.

“I really wish you would change your mind.” Ranulf Pushed the top panel of the Dutch door open, a rush of cool fall air flowing into the kitchen to help dissipate the toxic smoke. “Couldn’t you have met him somewhere in town?” He waved his hand in front of his face, and picked up a small jar of the spice, sniffing the contents. He winced, and pulled his face quickly away.

Kiran had only spent a week on leave before she began to grow restless. Her mind returning to matters of work, and poking her nose into Order affairs, even when she was specifically told to take time off after their ordeal with Freyja and the Nightmare Realm. “He’s not comfortable going out in public.” She muttered, lifting the edge of one of the cookies, inspecting the bottom, small flashes of sparks flew out from the sides, and she grimaced. She had doubled the spice in the recipe with hopes of creating a stronger scent, and now she pondered if that might have been a bad idea.

“Then why not the castle?” Ranulf was blunt, he had been standoffish ever since she explained her plan to her roommate.

“The only time he leaves the castle is to fight on the battlefield, and he hasn’t been needed for that in months.” Kiran pulled her kerchief down from her face with a sigh, walking over and filling a kettle with water at the basin. “It’s not healthy to be cooped up in that place all day, every day.”

Ranulf snorted while he watched her perched on his stool by the island. “I don’t think he has to worry about his health.”

“You know what I mean.” She rolled her eyes, and placed the kettle on the iron plate over the flame. “Líf has proved himself to be an asset to the Order and Askr, time, and time again. What will it take before the other heroes accept him? They don’t seem to have this issue with Thrasir.”

“Thrasir has made herself an essential member of the Order, and takes part in community events. Heck, she has even shacked up with the professor once!” Ranulf snickered, always one to enjoy sharing a tidbit of training yard gossip. “Líf is guarded, he keeps to himself. Which, I’m okay with.”

“Well, I’m not okay with it, and I think I have a good solution on what to do with him!” She grinned, hanging up her apron on a nearby hook. She returned to the island, looking across at him, and pulling the tea pot towards herself. “I could really use your support.”

“You know you have my support.” He chuckled sincerely, picking up the bag of Askran licorice root tea and handing it to her. “I just wish this little meeting wasn’t here, in our home”

Kiran smirked, scooping several heaping spoons full of dried tea mix into the ceramic pot. “Well, you shouldn’t have made it such a safe place for everyone, Friend of Nations!”

Ranulf chuckled, slowly shaking his head, a twang of admiration in his voice. “It seems I still have a lot to learn.” He let out a long sigh in defeat. “Okay, fine. I’ll be out in the garden If you need anything. I just can’t be in the same room yet.” Ranulf closed his eyes as he shuddered, the fur along his tail bristling. His heightened senses making him sensitive to people and environments around him, and he had not grown accustom to being around Líf.

“I hope someday you can.” Kiran quietly whispered to herself, watching him leave through the back door of the kitchen, and disappear around the side of the small cottage.

Kiran picked up the handled of the hot kettle with a clothed hand, pouring steaming water into the tea pot. The strong licorice aroma mixing with the spice in the air. She placed the hot sizzling cookies on a platter and put them in the centre of the island, setting out two sets of tea cups and their saucers. Neither of the cups matched, and she groaned when she stood back to stare at the eclectic set.

She and Ranulf couldn’t settle on just one style, and ended up buying a few different patterns so they had a bit of everything. She liked the variety, but maybe she should have had at least one matching set of china for special guests, such as today. Kiran tilted her head, trying to think of a quick fix, jumping where she stood, when her train of thought was interrupted by a loud consecutive knocking at the front door.

“Coming!” Kiran cried out, quickly striding down the bright and airy hallway, grabbing the door handle and yanking it open. “Líf, welcome!” She beamed in delight when she greeted the dark and gloomy swordsman. A black hood pulled over his head, attached to a larger cloak that he pulled up around half his face, concealing himself from the rest of the world. “Come in! Come in!” She sung, moving back and making way for him to step inside. “I hope you found the house okay, and that my directions weren’t too confusing?” She nervously asked watching him push back his hood, as she closed the door behind him.

He looked down at her with red piercing eyes, a soft azure mist gently flowed from the edges of his armour. “I did not require them; I knew a shortcut.” He coldly informed Kiran, handing her a hardcover book.

Kiran looked at the book curiously, a quiet ‘oh’ forming on her lips. “What’s this?”

“It’s a book.” Líf was curt, as he stared into Ranulf’s adjacent bedroom, the hanging plants holding his attention.

“I know it’s a book…” Kiran muttered, looking up at him in perplexed. “But why?”

Líf cautiously took a step forward, looking around as he wandered into the front sitting room. “This place is smaller than I thought it would be.” He bemused, turning the knob to the alchemist’s lights on, and then off again, and snorting lightly as he took full stock of Kiran’s home. “I assumed you would have had a library to add that to your collection. However, it doesn’t even seem you have started one.”

“There’s a bookshelf there.” Kiran anxiously pointed at a small shelf on the other side of the couch that seemed to have more cobwebs than novels.

“So there is.” Líf dryly observed, unimpressed as he looked at the shelf, and back to her, cupping his hand behind his back. “I overheard you asking Captain Geese about the flags for his pole, so I thought you might be interested in reading more on that subject.”

Kiran’s eyes widened, and she blushed red, glancing down at the book in her hand, _Guide to Nautical Flags and Their Meanings_. “Of course. This is great, thank-you.” She forced a toothy smile, and tried to hide her embarrassment. She didn’t know what was worse, that Líf overheard what she had said, or that he didn’t understand the innuendos.

“Why have you summoned me here?” He coldly inquired, strands of dark hair falling in front of his face.

Her mind was distracted by his gift, and out of habit she began to explain the process. “Well, I can’t really choose who I summon, and –“

“No, I mean to your house this morning.” Líf sighed impatiently, plumes of mist cascading through the openings in his armour.

“Oh, right!” She nervously laughed, ashamed at her own stupidity. “I wanted to talk to you about a request I have.” Kiran walked out into the hallway, gesturing him to come along. “I made some tea and cookies if you want to follow me to the kitchen?”

“I hardly see the point. I can no longer enjoy the victuals of life.” Líf didn’t move, he just longingly stared out the window into the garden.

“How about you just humour me, okay?” Kiran timidly jested, shrugging her shoulders.

Líf quietly nodded, and followed the summoner down the hall, and into the kitchen. He closed his eyes and inhaled through his nostrils deeply, cascades of mist flowing from his body once he released the air.  
  
  
  


“I know you can’t actually have these things, but I thought you might enjoy the smell at least.” She explained, directing him towards one of the stools by the island. Kiran had recalled when they first met that he explained to her that he enjoyed the strong fragrant smells of life. One of the few things he could still experience in his state.

“Thank-you.” Líf looked down at the tea set and sparkling crimson cookies that she laid out. “That was very thoughtful of you.”

Kiran walked across the kitchen to the Nifl cold box, and removed a small pitcher of cream in the shape of a cow. “I heard that Canas stuck you in the castle greenhouse after we last spoke. I’m so sorry, is there any way I can help get you out?” She asked, returning to the island, and sliding up on to the stool beside the swordsman.

“No.” Líf continued to stare at the tea cup in front of him. “I quite like it there.”

“You do?” Astonished, Kiran poured hot tea into each of their cups, taking care not to spill the dark liquid.

“Yes. I find the study of botany interesting.” He spoke softly, looking at her from the corner of his eye. The light coming in from the open door, bringing out the blue tones of his hair. “And, it is peaceful there.”

“Oh… that’s nice.” Kiran forced an uneasy smile, her plan backfiring. She was hoping he would ask for help, so she could ask for his in return. A, ‘you scratch my back; I’ll scratch yours,’ sort of situation.

Unsure what to say now, Kiran quickly picked up one of the cookies from the platter, and bit into it. The sweet and cinnamon taste developing into a spicy heat, burning her mouth as she forced herself to swallow it. “Excuse me!” She whimpered as her face turned red, running to the basin for water. She snatched a nearby glass filling it with water and chugging it down. Kiran slumped against the wall behind her, sweating. This was not the perfect tea time she had planned, she sighed in disappointed.

Líf didn’t hide his amusement, he chuckled under his mask. “You mentioned that you have a request for me?”

“Right.” She pushed herself from the wall and returned to her seat, deciding not to waste anymore of Líf’s time. “So, you are aware of our new friends in the Order?”

“The álfr?” Líf growled in disgust, crossing his arms. “Yes, I have heard.”

“Now the light álfrs, Peony and Mirabilis, have done an excellent job working with Sharena and Alfonse. They have informed the Order on what exactly happened while we were in Ljósálfheimr and Dökklálfheimr. Which has been incredibly valuable since none of us remember our dreams.” Kiran started her pitch, hoping the prickly swordsman would hear her out at least. “However, Plumeria has been distant, and we could really use the information that she knows. I worry that she is not even going to make an attempt to work with us. That she will be left out.”

“Like me?” Líf clipped in, throwing Kiran off her speech.

“No! Nooo.” Kiran tried to reassure him, the corners of her lips twitching. “Your situation is… different.”

Líf snorted loudly, and turned away, azure mist billowing from his body.

Kiran took a deep breath, calming her nerves before she continued. “Anyways, you might have also heard about what the seers have forecasted in the upcoming summons. Plumeria may not be the only dark álfr we have in Askr soon, and there’s a chance that your old boss could show up.”

“Hel…” He sneered, her name like venom in his mouth, and his eyes became slits.

“Yeah.” Kiran frowned at the thought of hosting the former God of Death in her Askr. “I mean if I could avoid her, I would, but I can’t control who comes through the gate and–“

“I know how it works, Kiran.” Líf was short with her, fraying her nerves. “What does any of this have to do with me?”

She tried to ignore his volatile attitude, and pushed on with her request. “Well, I was hoping that you would take the lead when these types of, ah, heroes arrive. _IF_ they ever arrive!” Kiran gave him a hopeful smile as she outlined her plans for him. “They need a stronger hand then Sharena for their orientation, and someone a bit more… intimidating to keep them in line. I thought you would be a perfect fit! You have experience bringing heroes into the Order, and getting them settled. You’re a natural born leader, and you know Askr very well.”

“No.”

“Huh?” She looked at him in disbelief.

“No.” Líf was laconic and blunt. “I am turning down your request.”

“Why?!” She clenched her fists.

“For the same reason I prefer to work in the greenhouse.” He stood from his stool, turning to leave, his black cloak billowing from his movement. “The living things there don’t judge me for what I am.”

“People just don’t understand your condition!” Kiran pleaded at his back, trying to get him to return.

Líf stopped short, turning quickly on his heel, the gloom in his eyes replaced with rage. “Stop saying that!” He barked, slipping his fingers into the sides of his mask and unhooking it from the rest of his armour, exposing the gruesome view that he hid underneath. “It’s not an illness I can recover from, or state I can change.” He spat through torn skin, and thin strings of muscle stretched over white bone and teeth. “I’m dead!” He growled, his eyes on fire. “Say it. I want to hear you say it!”

She couldn’t help but turn away, frighten and overwhelmed by his aggression. He echoed the darkest conversations she’s had with Alfonse, and it opened old wounds. Líf sneered as her when she cowered away, looking down his nose at her. “I knew you weren’t strong enough. You're nothing like David.”

Kiran steeled herself, he was wrong, she told herself, fed-up with being pushed around. After all, she was the one that killed Hel, and she was the one that killed Freyja. She shouldn’t have to fear him. He was not her Alfonse, nor she his original summoner. He just another hero in her Askr, and he had to be reminded of that.

“Oh, big deal!” She snapped at him, sliding off her stool, and looking up at him, only able to stand chest high. “So what, you’re dead! So are a lot of people, but you’re still walking around. Do you even realize how many people would happily trade places with you? To have a second chance! What matters is what you do with your life, or undead life.” Kiran shook her head in frustration. “You know, people don’t avoid you because you’re dead Líf, they don’t avoid you at all! You’re the one avoiding them! You don’t even try to talk to anyone, or take part in anything. You can’t even play nice on the field with your own allies!” She snickered in annoyance, nodding her head. “So yeah, You’re dead, and I shouldn’t be tip-toeing around it, but just remember, Líf, that you, and you alone, are the only reason you feel just a little more dead than the other corpses in their graves.” Kiran stooped back into her seat in a huff, expecting Líf to storm out from her home, and to never to see him again.

To her surprise Líf stood there, startled by her reaction. His eyes wide, and his jaw bone grated at the hinges. After a moment of stunned silence, he quickly picked up his tea cup and brought it to what was left of his mouth. Líf tilted it back, letting the hot liquid flow over his tongue and inward, sloshing down his throat, and spilling out of his open chest cavity, dripping to the floor. He stared down at the bottom of the cup, pausing quietly. “The witches of Hel use to read tea leaves to foresee future tidings.” He calmly told her, his eyes locked down on the cup.

“C-can you read them?” Kiran stuttered, curiously trying to look herself.

A softness washed over Líf’s face, and he hooked his mask back in place. “The rising dawn. There’s change coming.” He quietly told her, handing her the tea cup before striding down her hallway

Astonished, Kiran looked at the damp leaves at the bottom of the cup, and back to Líf, chasing him down the hall. “Wait! Does that mean you’ll do it?”

“What?” He turned abruptly towards her, the mist flowing out under his cloak. “Be the captain of your band of miserable misfits?”

Kiran pouted, scratching her chin. “Well, I wouldn’t put it like that –“

“That was a joke, Kiran.” He gave a disappointed sigh, pulling the door open, and stepping out onto the front stoop. “And, yes. I’ll do what you request of me.”

“Oh. Oh!” Kiran exclaimed, her eyes widened in disbelief, and she rushed to follow him. “Wait! Maybe you should come to the summoning session tomorrow, just in case any of them show up! I’m not sure where Plumeria is, but I’m sure she will turn up too!”

“It’s been a long time, but yes, I accept your invitation.” Líf pulled the hood of his cloak over his head, covering most his face. “And don’t worry about Plumeria, she hides in the greenhouse. I have a feeling for the same reasons that I do.”

Kiran sighed in relief, a genuine smile creeping across her face. “Thank-you.”

“Farewell, summoner.” Líf called out, following the stone path, and exited the small garden of 1601 Fljót House.

Ranulf looked up from his work on the other side of the yard, sauntering over to join her, leaning on his rake. “I heard you standing up to him in there. That’s a good look for you!” He laughed, clapping his hand on her shoulder.

Kiran snickered, looking down at the tea cup she still held, and back up to her friend. “That’s because change is coming. It’s coming for us all.”

End.


End file.
